Review: Mission Impossible Fallout Is Tirelessly Predictable Yet Endlessly Surprising
- Jul 28, 2018
- 3 min read
It's official. Tom Cruise is going to outlive all mankind. And so is this franchise. I have no regrets.
Two years after the capture of Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), and with The Syndicate on the run, though no less deadly, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) finds himself on yet another mission. The required nuclear components for three high yield devices have, while under Hunt's watch, fallen into enemy hands. In an attempt to regain the weapons Hunt and his team, Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames), are joined by CIA heavy weight Agent Walker (Henry Cavill), to ensure he gets the job done. But soon enough the ever elusive Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) returns and things begin to spiral out of control.
When I say that Fallout is predictable, I don't mean it as a wholly bad thing. While it often seems as though returning director Christopher McQuarrie doesn't even care about hiding his "plot twists" that are more visible than the leading man's teeth, it can be kind of fun throwing out what you think the film holds, who knows what, where things are or when all the cards will be on the table. And yet, far more than I ever could have expected, that same director is throwing more than a few surprises around, be it nods to prior films, unexpected character reveals and arguably the franchises greatest mask scenes. While the web of plot is more tangled than that lost pair of earphones, there's enough going on that you probably won't notice.
There is indeed a lot going on. It does seem like Cruise wrote several lines himself, "I couldn't have done this without you Ethan, oh Ethan you're just the best, the world owes you an eternal debt that can never be repaid Ethan", he has, on some level, earned it. This time around he's hanging from and flying helicopters, jumping rooftops, charging around on motorbikes through Paris and pulling off one very impressive HALO jump and, much like the prior films, it's made all the better for the fact that we, the audience, know it's him. Each and every punch, fall, crash and anything else that Cruise finds himself violently impacting with, is felt. The fact that he broke bones hammers this home a little more. I have nothing but respect for Hollywood's stunt men and women, but seeing the actors face makes those moments all the more special.
And the cast are actors after all, and everyone gets their chance to shine. Cruise is his usual charismatic, ceaselessly watchable self, the woefully underused Rhames gets more than a few of the film's best moments, and Alec Baldwin secures himself some enjoyable scenes. Cavill's action chops are on full display, particularly in one of the best fist-fights in a long time, a solid showing of why he should leave the blue super-spandex behind and tackle some action films of his own. Pegg is a lot of fun and Sean Harris gets to look creepy while chewing the scenery, spouting rhetoric of world destruction and the path to peace
As the credits rolled after almost two and a half hours of what felt like non-stop action, I was satisfied. Fallout is like a good roller-coaster. It builds up slowly then unleashes itself at astounding speeds, flying along until it comes to a necessary and fulfilling halt. And, like the best roller-coasters, you'll want to take the ride again and again.
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